SUBANTARCTIC - It is difficult to distinguish males from females among king penguins, but a new Ibis study reveals that king penguins can be sexed with an accuracy of 100% based on the sex-specific syllable pattern of their vocalisations. In comparison, using beak length to sex king penguins is accurate 79% of the time.
The new findings may help investigators understand how king penguins choose mates. They also offer a cost-effective, non-invasive technique for researchers to sex king penguins in the field.
"The sex-specific syllable pattern in king penguin calls is a very interesting finding, both from an evolutionary perspective as it is rare in non-passerine species [bird species that do not perch], but also because it allows researchers with very little training to reliably identify the gender of king penguins without handling the individuals," said lead author Hannah Kriesell, of the Centre Scientifique de Monaco and the University of Strasbourg.
Source
Distinguishing males from females among king penguins [press release], 22 February 2018, Wiley
Journal citation
Kriesell, H.J., Aubin, T., Planas-Bielsa, V., Benoiste, M., Bonadonna, F., Gachot-Neveu, H., ... Le Bohec, C. (2018). Sex identification in king penguins Aptenodytes patagonicus through morphological and acoustic cues, Ibis. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ibi.12577
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| Male-female king penguin couple Image (c) Hannah Kriesell |
The new findings may help investigators understand how king penguins choose mates. They also offer a cost-effective, non-invasive technique for researchers to sex king penguins in the field.
"The sex-specific syllable pattern in king penguin calls is a very interesting finding, both from an evolutionary perspective as it is rare in non-passerine species [bird species that do not perch], but also because it allows researchers with very little training to reliably identify the gender of king penguins without handling the individuals," said lead author Hannah Kriesell, of the Centre Scientifique de Monaco and the University of Strasbourg.
Source
Distinguishing males from females among king penguins [press release], 22 February 2018, Wiley
Journal citation
Kriesell, H.J., Aubin, T., Planas-Bielsa, V., Benoiste, M., Bonadonna, F., Gachot-Neveu, H., ... Le Bohec, C. (2018). Sex identification in king penguins Aptenodytes patagonicus through morphological and acoustic cues, Ibis. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ibi.12577
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